ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Finance
Narcotic Drugs Court convicts accused guilty of illegal trade of ganja worth Rs. 9.8 crores
Nagpur / Raipur, 16 March 2023
In a landmark victory in Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's pursuit towards bringing drug offenders to book, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Court, Raipur has convicted 5 accused involved in a case of one of the biggest seizures of Ganja in the country and have sentenced them to 20 years of imprisonment and a penalty of Rs. 2 lakhs each.
Based on specific information, the officers of DRI, Nagpur Regional Unit intercepted a vehicle loaded with Ganja at Santoshi Nagar Chowk, Raipur on 24.06.2018.
The truck was loaded with raw coconuts. Three persons were traveling in the said truck. On questioning, they confessed before the officers of DRI, Nagpur that ganja was placed below the raw coconuts.
Having unloaded the coconuts, a total of 1020 rectangular packets wrapped with brown adhesive tape were recovered which contained ganja. The total weight of ganja seized was found to be 6,545 Kgs valued at Rs. 9,81,75,000/-. The three persons in the truck were placed under arrest. Based on the information provided by the persons arrested, two other persons, the suppliers of the seized ganja, were also arrested. The chargesheet in the matter was filed before NDPS Court, Raipur in December 2018. The trial in the matter began in June 2019 and the Judgment was delivered on 15.03.2023.
This seizure of Ganja was one of the biggest seizures in the country. Such prompt and timely action by the officers of DRI has helped to not only unearth such illegal trade of ganja but also to prosecute the offenders, reinforcing DRI's ability to act and combat the menace of narcotic substances which are destroying the bright future of the nation's youth and ruining their lives.| PIB Mumbai | Dheep/Darshana
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Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Promotion of Aquaculture
The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing various schemes/programmes for development and promotion of aquaculture in the country. The Department of Fisheries has launched a flagship Scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana : A scheme to bring about Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector in India’. The PMMSY inter-alia, envisages financial assistance for promotion of freshwater and brackish water aquaculture, fish culture in reservoirs and other open water bodies, wetland, cold water fisheries and technology infusion in the aquaculture sector.
The PMMSY also envisages cluster and area-based developmental approaches to enhance competitiveness of aquaculture sector, facilitate economies of scale, generate higher incomes, accelerate growth and expansion of the sector in an organized manner, amplify outcomes. Potential areas for aquaculture are developed as an integrated clusters with requisite interventions/activities, forward and backward linkages and with facilities for quality brood, seed and feed, critical infrastructure, processing and marketing networks.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure and Development Fund  also provide concessional finance for development of aquaculture. Kisan Credit Card  facility has also been extended to fishers and fish farmers to meet their working capital requirements.
This written reply was given by the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi in Lok Sabha.
Ministry of Finance
CBIC participates in the ‘RozgarMela’ drive
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the mega recruitment drive, the ‘Rozgar Mela’ today via video conferencing. During this recruitment drive, 10 lakh personnel are expected to be recruited. In the first tranche of this drive, appointment letters were given to over 75,000 new appointees/recruits selected from across the country in various Departments and Ministries of the Government.
The Prime Minister addressed/congratulated these appointees on this occasion. All the new appointees participated in the function; either in person at the 50 chosen locations/centres all across the country or through a link provided to them to connect virtually. Functions were held in 50 locations all over India and were presided over by senior dignitaries who handed over appointment letters to some of the new recruits at these centres.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the function organised at Chennai. A total of 252 candidates have been appointed in the Chennai Region by the CBIC. Out of these, 18 appointees were handed over at Chennai in the presence of Union Finance Minister and link to attend the function virtually was shared with the remaining candidates.
All Ministries and Departments have been directed to work towards filling up existing vacancies against sanctioned posts in Mission Mode. As part of the Mission Mode Recruitment Drive, the CBIC has also issued 2006 appointment letters to the newly appointed Inspectors, Preventive Officers, Examiners and Tax Assistants on 22nd October, 2022. Out of these, around 266 new appointees participated in person in the functions which were held at 17 Central GST & Customs  Regions and others through virtual mode.
PIB Headquarters
3. Employees Provident Fund Organization, Ahmedabad Legal Procedure against M / s McWayer HR Solutions
Employees Provident Fund Organisation , Regional Office, Ahmedabad has lodged an FIR with Navrangpura Police Station against M/s Macquire H. R. Solutions, Ahmedabad for criminal breach of trust under section 406/409 of IPC as the establishment had deducted the PF amount but not deposited to the PF department. Regional P F Commissioner Shri Ajeet Kumar, informed that the Proprietor Mr. Nitya Ranjan Sarkar had deducted the amount from his employees salary but was not depositing the same as per statutory provisions . EPFO, after conducting a comprehensive inquiry, lodged a complaint with the Navrangpura Police station.
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Special Service and Features
Seizure of Exotic Species by Chennai Air Customs
On 11.01.2023, two un-attended trolley bags of one Indian passenger who arrived from Bangkok were found near baggage claim belt pertaining to flight FD 153, during the examination of said check in baggage, the below mentioned wild life species were found concealed.
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S.No.
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Name of species
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Quantity
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CITES Status
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Condition of the animals
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1
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Pygmy marmoset
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3
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Appendix II
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Live
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2
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Ball python
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45
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Appendix II
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Live
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3
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Exotic Star Tortoise
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2
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Appendix II
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Live
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4
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Corn snake
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8
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Not Listed
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Live
The above mentioned species have been deported back to Bangkok via Air Asia  flight.
Further investigation is under progress, according to a press release issued by M.Mathew Jolly, Pr.Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
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Ministry of Defence
Successful Flight Tests of Very Short Range Air Defence System  Missile by DRDO
DRDO conducted two successful test flight of Very Short Range Air Defence System  missile on 27 Sep 2022 from a ground based portable launcher at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System  designed and developed indigenously by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat , Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners.
VSHORADS missile incorporates many novel technologies including miniaturized Reaction Control System  and integrated avionics, which have been successfully proven during the tests. The missile, meant for neutralizing low altitude aerial threats at short ranges is propelled by a dual thrust solid motor. The design of the missile including launcher has been highly optimized to ensure easy portability. Both the flight tests have completely met the mission objectives.
Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh complimented and appreciated the efforts of DRDO and industry partners and said that this new missile equipped with modern technologies will give further technological boost to the Armed Forces. Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO congratulated the entire VSHORADS team for this tremendous success.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Adequate monitoring mechanism available for identifying and checking adulteration in petrol and diesel
Various initiatives and methods adopted by OMCs to curb adulteration
The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today informed that the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Oil Marketing Companies  are aware of problem of adulteration in petrol and diesel and have adequate monitoring mechanism for identifying and checking adulteration. It is a continuous process and OMCs have been taking various steps/methods to curb adulteration to ensure that end customers get the right quality and quantity.
Various initiatives and methods have been adopted by OMCs as per Marketing Discipline Guidelines  and the Dealership Agreement, to curb adulteration, which includes:
- Making available Filter Paper, Calibrated Density Equipment  & 5 Liter Calibrated Measure at the Retail Outlets for checking quality & quantity of MS/HSD.
 Conducting Regular / Surprise inspections at Retail Outlets by OMC Field Officers/ Senior Officers/Mobile labs throughout the country. In case of irregularities, action is taken as per the MDG and dealership agreement.
 Creation of a separate Quality Assurance Cell  for carrying out inspections.
 Drawing of samples from petrol pumps at random and sending for testing to authorized laboratories.
 Sealing of tankers before leaving company premises to protect against pilferage/adulteration en-route.
 Installation of GPS to monitor movement of Tank Trucks carrying MS / HSD.
 Conducting Third Party Audit of Retail Outlets by OMCs for effective monitoring and benchmarking.
 Automation of Retail Outlets by OMCs which enable the real-time capture of sales transaction and monitoring of tank stocks and receipts.
Established cases of adulteration are classified as ‘Critical irregularities’ under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines and in such cases the retail outlet dealerships are terminated in first instance itself by OMCs. 58 number of retail outlets have been terminated by OMCs on the established cases of adulteration for the years from 2015-16 to Apr-Sep 2021.
OMCs have intimated that they have not carried out any study on use of adulterated petrol and diesel causing more pollution than pure petrol and diesel.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister’s meeting with the President of Brazil
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, on 10 September 2023, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
President Lula congratulated Prime Minister on the success of India's G20 Presidency. Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes for Brazil's G20 Presidency next year and assured him of India’s full support.
Discussions took place on ways to strengthen India - Brazil Strategic Partnership, including cooperation in bio-fuels, pharmaceuticals, agro-based industries, space and aviation.
A Joint Statement was issued at the conclusion of the meeting.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Zero Defect Zero Effect Scheme
As many as 23,948 MSMEs had registered with intent to adopt the principle of the Zero Defect Zero Effect Scheme . Under this, the Quality Council of India  followed the scheme guidelines on a consistent basis. QCI has completed and submitted all relevant documents and evidences related to the erstwhile ZED Scheme, with the Ministry as the National Monitoring and Implementation Unit . QCI was monitoring & implementing the following components of the guidelines: Industry Awareness Programmes, Training Programmes including Master Trainer, Assessor, Consultant, MSME Capacity Building, MSME officials training etc., Content Development for Online Learning Development of Mobile Monitoring Applications for Awareness Programmes and Site-assessments, Accreditation & empanelment of rating agencies & consulting organizations, Conducting Desktop and site-assessments through accredited agencies, other components as mentioned in the scheme guidelines.
This information was given by the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shri Narayan Rane in a written reply to Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Coal
Coal Ministry to Take Up Additional 19 First Mile Connectivity Projects
Projects to be Implemented by 2026-27 Fiscal
The Ministry of Coal will be taking up additional 19 First Mile Connectivity  projects for Coal India Ltd  and SCCL with a capacity of 330 Million Ton  and these projects will be implemented by FY26-27.
The Ministry has already undertaken 55 FMC projects  of 526 MTPA capacity with an investment of Rs.18000 crores. Out of which eight projects  of 95.5 MTPA capacity have been commissioned and the remaining will be commissioned by FY2025.
To ensure efficient and environ-friendly coal evacuation in future, the Ministry is working on the development of National Coal Logistic Plan including First Mile Connectivity through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening of rail network in coalfields. Ministry of Coal has set a target to produce 1.31Billion Ton coal by FY25 and 1.5BT in FY30. In this context, development of coal transportation that is cost efficient, fast and environmental friendly manner is important.
The Ministry has formulated a strategy to develop an integrated approach for eliminating road transportation of coal in mines and has taken steps to upgrade mechanized coal transportation and loading system under FMC projects. Coal Handling Plants  and SILOs with Rapid Loading Systems will have benefits like crushing, sizing of coal and speedy computer aided loading.
Study was undertaken through National Environmental Research Institute , Nagpur in 2020-21. NEERI Report has established yearly carbon emissions saving, reduction in truck movement density and diesel savings of Rs. 2100 crore per year.
Ministry of Communications
Secretary  Shri K. Rajaraman releases TEC Report- “Rollout of Small Cells for 5G Networks by leveraging Street Furniture”
This report to facilitate standard approach for proliferation of denser small cell infrastructure in the country for hassle-free rollout of 5G services
“IoT/ ICT Standards for Smart Cities” report also released today
In order to achieve the objectives of timely, hassle-free rollout of 5G services; and development of standardized ecosystem for Smart Cities in the country, Secretary  in presence of Member , Member  and other senior officers of Department of Communications  & Telecommunication Engineering Centre  has released today two reports namely:
- Rollout of Small Cells for 5G Networks by leveraging Street Furniture
- IoT/ ICT Standards for Smart Cities
These reports have been prepared by the respective divisions of Telecommunication Engineering Centre , Department of Telecommunications, Govt of India, with multi-stakeholders’ consultation.
With the 5G networks expected to be rolled out in the country soon, the need for small cells will become even more critical due to the introduction of higher spectrum bands, which necessitate denser network deployments to support larger traffic volumes per unit area. The report on Rollout of Small Cells for 5G Networks by leveraging Street Furniture will facilitate a standard approach for the proliferation of denser small cell infrastructure in the country.
The Technical Report on IoT/ ICT standards for Smart cities has covered the national and international guidelines and standards related to the development of IoT/ ICT based smart infrastructure in various verticals of Smart Cities. The report has also covered the standards released by ITU on IoT and Smart cities; and the Key Performance Indicators  for assessing the smartness of the cities. This TEC report may be a good reference document for the stakeholders involved in developing the standard based ecosystem for Smart Cities.
Telecommunication Engineering Centre  is the technical arm of Department of Telecommunications which plays a key role in the Standardization and related aspects in the Telecom Sector.
These reports are available on TEC website: www.tec.gov.in
President's Secretariat
Address by the Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind to the Indian Community and friends of India in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
I am delighted to meet you today in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. I bring with me the greetings from your brothers and sisters in India. Right from the time I landed in your beautiful country, my delegation and I have been received with tremendous warmth and affection and you have made us feel really special. I am truly grateful for your hospitality.
Friends,
In the last 42 years, the people of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines have created a democratic, plural and multi-ethnic society full of optimism and progress. The economic achievements of this small but vibrant country are laudable. Under the wise guidance of generations of far-sighted leaders, the people of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines have transformed this island nation into an impressive example of peace and prosperity in the Caribbean.
I am glad to know that members of the Indian community living here have adopted this land as their own. They live in peace and harmony with other communities and are making rich contribution to the development of SVG. As a result of their positive approach, the Indian diaspora commands respect and affection in SVG. The declaration of 1st June as Indian Arrival Day in Saint Vincent and 7th October as Indian Heritage Day marks the importance that this country attaches to its Indian connection. Indeed it will be a proud moment for me and the Indian community when I will unveil the sign renaming Calder road to’India drive’ shortly.
Our developmental partnership with Saint Vincent & the Grenadines is based on the spirit of universal brotherhood. We want to support our brothers and sisters here, in building a stronger Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, with infrastructure projects that add value to the well-being of the people. I would also urge all of you to connect with the new India, its immense energy and rapid economic growth.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I once again express my heartiest appreciation to the Indian Diaspora and Indians living in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. You reflect India’s rich diversity, cultural heritage and traditions. We are proud of you and your achievements.
I wish you and members of your families a very bright future, full of prosperity, peace and health. We look forward to welcoming our Pravasi Bhartiya brothers and sisters to your own country of origin, that is, India.
Thank you,
Jai Hind!
Ministry of Defence
BRO builds 484-meter permanent bridge connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab with rest of the country
Border Roads Organisation  has constructed and opened a new permanent bridge on the river Ravi connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab to the rest of the country much ahead of its schedule. The enclave of around 35 square kilometres had hither to been connected via pontoon bridge of limited load capacity.
The pontoon bridge used to be dismantled every year prior to the Monsoon or else it would have got washed away in the strong currents of the river. This meant thousands of acres of fertile land across the river could not be tilled by farmers during the Monsoon. The local population and the Army  required a Class 70 permanent bridge to give all weather connectivity to the enclave. Border Roads Organisation conceived and planned for a permanent bridge.
The 484-meter bridge was built by 141 Drain Maintenance Coy of 49 Border Roads Task Force  of Project Chetak. The bridge costing Rs 17.89 crore excluding the approaches, consist of 16 cells of 30.25-metre length each.
Border Roads Organisation had planned to open the Kasowal bridge in time for Vaisakhi so that the farmers could transport their harvest to the market comfortably. The 16th and last Cell Division was completed on the March 15, 2020 and construction of protective works was under progress when the work came to a halt on March 23 due to the COVID-19 lockdown. To ensure locals do not suffer during the harvest season and also to ensure the bridge does not get damaged because of the heavy discharge of water and the tendency of the river to change course in the monsoons, Border Roads approached Punjab government and Gurdaspur district administration and obtained necessary approvals to continue the work.
Director General Border Roads  Lt Gen Harpal Singh said The BRO teams did the work by taking all necessary COVID-19 precautions.
All available resources were diverted and approach work of far bank completed in a short time. On the first Monday after Vaisakhi, the bridge was opened for the farmers who transported their harvests on tractors to the market.
ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy/ADA
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Prime Minister's Office
SCO Summit under India’s Chairmanship
India assumed the rotating Chairmanship of SCO at the Samarkand Summit on 16 September 2022. Under India’s first-ever Chairmanship, the 23rd Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State will be held in the virtual format on 4 July 2023, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
All the SCO Member States, viz. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have been invited to attend the Summit. In addition, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as Observer States. As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair. Heads of the two SCO Bodies – the Secretariat and the SCO RATS - will also be present. Further, Heads of six international and regional organizations have also been invited, viz. UN, ASEAN, CIS, CSTO, EAEU and CICA.
The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym was coined by the Prime Minister at the 2018 SCO Summit and stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment. These themes have been highlighted during our Chairmanship of SCO.
India has set up new pillars of cooperation under its Chairmanship - Startups and Innovation; Traditional Medicine; Digital Inclusion; Youth Empowerment; and Shared Buddhist Heritage. In addition, India has worked towards fostering greater people to people ties that celebrate the historical and civilizational bonds between our nations. These include the various socio-cultural events hosted by Varanasi under the framework of the first-ever SCO Cultural and Tourist Capital for 2022-23.
India’s Chairmanship of SCO has been a period of intense activity and mutually beneficial cooperation between Member States. India has hosted a total of 134 meetings and events, including 14 Ministerial-level meetings. India remains committed to play a positive and constructive role in the organization, and looks forward to a successful SCO Summit as the culmination of its Chairmanship.